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Sunday, June 27, 2010

Do You Take Your Yoga Too Seriously?

1. The person on the mat next to you groans a lot, chants too loudly, and smells kind of funny. He looks toward you eagerly when your teacher suggests you find a friend for a partner stretch. What do you do?

A. Refuse. If he can't even remember to wear deodorant there's NO WAY he'll be capable of doing the partner pose correctly.

B. Act quickly! If you act like you don't see him and snag another partner quickly, maybe you can get out of it without hurting his feelings.

C. Smile at him and go along with it. It might be a little awkward, but it will probably only be for a few minutes, right?

2. You get stuck in traffic and you have to to miss your regularly scheduled weekly class. While you're sitting in the traffic jam you can feel yourself becoming tense, stressed out, and angry.. you realize you're going to miss your class when you need it more than ever. How do you react?

A. Get mad. Drive home fuming. Then, take it out on your spouse when you get home. Your week has officially been ruined! RUINED!

B. You call the studio and tell them you'll be late, but you're going! If you don't get your weekly class in, you will feel off for the rest of the week.

C. Chuckle a little to yourself--you see the humor in the irony. Assume it wasn't meant to be, then go home to do your own practice.

3. Your substitute teacher teaches the class to do something you've heard your teacher say is dangerous a thousand times. What do you do?

A. Correct her in front of the whole class. These students need to know about her incompetence so they won't be duped into taking another class with her!

B. Do nothing during the class, but make a mental note to ask her about it after class. She may know something you don't, and you want to pick her brain.

C. Try it and see what happens. Who are you to question your teacher?

4. You've been trying to talk your friend into going to yoga with you for years. She finally says she's ready to try it, so she brings over a DVD for you to do together. It turns out your friend doesn't know the difference between yoga and Yoga Booty Ballet. What do you do?

A. You take the DVD out of her hands and fling it across the room proclaiming "THAT.. is NOT.. yoga!"

B. Tell her you'll do her DVD with her, if she promises to go with a class with you later so she can see what your yoga class is all about, too.

C. You can't wait to try it with her! This should be fun!

5. When you tell your sister, who has never set foot in a yoga studio, your plans to become independently wealthy so you won't have to work anymore she says you're not being very "yogic." Do you:

A. Vow never to discuss yoga with her again. Who is SHE to tell YOU what "yogic" is.. You've been practicing for years, and you can even touch the back of your head with your foot. She probably can't even touch her toes.

B. Laugh it off because you realize everyone has a different opinion about what "yogic" means.

Mostly B's Happy Medium
You're serious about your yoga, but you're not extreme about it. When things don't go according to plan you might get a little disappointed, but you look at it as a learning opportunity instead of a catastrophe. You know what you know, but are curious and open to exploring different ideas and ways of doing things.

Mostly C'sJust Going with the Flow
You like yoga, but you aren't really attached to any one teacher or technique. You might look at your yoga practice as more of a hobby than a way of life, and that's great! Keep testing the waters and trying new things, but don't be afraid to ask questions either. Teachers are there to guide you and offer support, but this is your practice so make sure you're getting what you need out of it!